Flanders' Field of Poppies, Royal British Legion Campaign

Further to my earlier post, I thought that I would share the campaign page from the Royal British Legion:

Flanders' Field of Poppies

In 1918, 11 November  signalled the end of The Great War; the Armistice was signed. Since 1921, the nation has come together to remember the sacrifices that hundreds of thousands of British and Commonwealth Service men and women made - not just during the Great War, but World War 2 and all subsequent wars and conflicts including Iraq and Afghanistan.

To salute all these heroes and express the gratitude they deserve this Remembrance Day, the Legion is planting a "Flanders Field" of Poppies beside the ramparts of the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres.

Please be part of this heartfelt act of commemoration by dedicating a poppy with your personal message. Every poppy planted is one more deed of courage remembered. The Menin Gate is unique because it is the only place in the world where the fallen of the Great War are remembered each day.

Please dedicate your poppy by completing our on line form before Thursday 1 November so we can make sure it is planted in Ypres on 11 November and plays a part in our special Remembrance Day. Your message could be to a member of your family who fought in the Great War or to remember the thousands who have laid down their lives for our country since then.

About the event

The Flanders Field of Poppies tribute will be displayed beside the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres (now Ieper), Belgium, close to the area that bore some of the heaviest fighting of the Great War. Our "Flanders Field" will be a poignant reminder of the courage and valour shown in desperately difficult circumstances.

In early November, a team from the Legion will drive to Ypres in Flanders with the poppies and  will plant them on the banks surrounding the Menin Gate and on the field above the Gate as well. Our Flanders Field of Poppies will be in full bloom for Armistice Day on Sunday 11 November 2012.

On Armistice Day itself, a service will be held at St George's chapel at 10.00am, followed by a procession to the Menin Gate. There will be a service at the Menin Gate after the 2 minutes silence at 11.00am. The service is being organised by The Last Post Association and will be attended by representatives of the Legion together with thousands of people making the pilgrimage to Ypres to pay their respects.

Menin Gate

Ypres (now Ieper) is a town in the Province of West Flanders in Belgium which was totally destroyed in the First World War and has been rebuilt. The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing is situated at the eastern side of the town on the road to Menin.

The site of the Menin Gate was chosen because of the hundreds of thousands of men who passed through it on their way to the First World War battlefields. It now bears the names of more than 54,000 officers and men whose graves are not known. The memorial, designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield with sculpture by Sir William Reid-Dick, was unveiled by Lord Plumer in July 1927.

Each night at 8 pm the traffic is stopped at the Menin Gate while members of the local Fire Brigade sound the Last Post in the roadway under the Memorial's arches. It is the only place in the world where the fallen of the Great War are remembered every day.

For more information or to make donations:

http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/remembrance/flanders-field-of-poppies/